In a family, certain situations require secrecy, while others require honesty and transparency. In a recent Reddit post, a person shared that their loyalty to their mother outweighed that of their brothers and how he ultimately earned his mother’s love and trust.
He Witnessed Something as a Child
The Original Poster (OP) is a 20-year-old who revealed a shocking incident he saw when he was just a child.
OP was seven at the time when he walked in on his father kissing a woman who wasn’t his mother.
OP was shocked, confused, felt sick, and started crying out loud.
He Told Him Not to Tell
His dad was trying to calm him down and persuade him that OP wasn’t seeing what he thought he was seeing as the woman fled.
Even though OP couldn’t fully comprehend what was going on, OP says he was innocent but not stupid, and he knew that his mother, who was out of town at the time, would be upset if she heard what happened.
OP’s dad spent the remainder of the day trying to persuade OP not to say anything to his mom when she returned.
His Brother Already Knew
Plus, his older brother, Tom, who was 14 at the time, told OP that it was better to keep quiet and not hurt their mom’s feelings.
When OP’s mom returned, OP remained silent but found it difficult to both eat and be near her.
His dad dismissed his mother’s concerns saying that OP might be ill.
He Couldn’t Keep It In
After roughly three days of keeping it a secret, OP finally broke down in front of his classmates at school as his instructor discussed the value of honesty.
OP’s mother visited the school, and OP ended up crying as he told her everything.
OP’s mom was shocked and sad, but she held OP up, comforted him, and assured him that nothing was his fault.
Later that day, when OP’s mom confronted his father, it was revealed that Tom had been aware of the situation for at least a year but had kept quiet about it.
OP’s mother was hurt but didn’t say anything.
His Parents Divorced
The parents eventually got divorced. When they finally sold the house, Tom blamed OP for the divorce. That’s when their mother finally snapped at Tom.
In contrast to how mom fought for main custody of OP, she didn’t fight for custody of Tom and ended up with a 50/50 split.
OP’s mother continued to communicate with Tom over the years and made an effort to build a relationship with him, but it wasn’t the same as it was with OP.
OP would receive the majority of her care and attention because, according to her, teenage guys don’t need their mothers as much as younger children do.
She Couldn’t Trust Tom
When OP finally questioned his mother why she treated Tom differently from him, she admitted that she had been upset by Tom’s willingness to keep quiet about their father’s affair and cover for him once before.
OP’s mother acknowledged that even though she still loved Tom, she didn’t have the heart to rely on him again fully.
Instead, she chose to keep her distance in case he ever let her down again.
OP said that hearing it made him upset, but he also understood it.
Tom has recently been ranting about how their mom was unfair, and OP snapped at him, saying it was his fault for being more devoted to their cheating dad than to their mom, who had been treated unfairly.
OP felt bad about what he said to Tom and took to Reddit to ask for opinions. Thousands of comments came in with split views.
Kids are the Victims
Several Redditors sided with OP, saying that both OP and Tom are not wrong and their father is the jerk here. The comment went on to say that Tom was young and under the same pressure as OP, and their dad is a jerk for putting that pressure on him, and later on, OP.
Another Reddit user pointed out that both the mom and dad are wrong here. The comment read, “Your dad is wrong for putting that burden on a child. He used his position of “power” to manipulate a child into keeping a secret and your mum is a jerk for punishing a child for doing what a parent asked him to do and not realizing that he was let down too. This isn’t Tom’s fault at all. He was a child, he didn’t know any difference and she essentially said “f” you and gave up on him.”
So what do you think? What would you do if you were in this situation?
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The post After He Caught His Dad Cheating, He Asked Him to Keep It a Secret, He Couldn’t Live With It So Told His Mom first appeared on Wealthy Living
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Source: Reddit